2018 my year in review

Twenty eighteen has felt like a tough year for me. It’s only in looking back that I realise actually it went pretty well. My time has been squeezed more than ever before. A toddler running around, lots of interesting client work and working something new (more on that later) has left little time for reflection so its New Year's Eve, time to reflect.

It was an extremely smart audience and we worked together to look how JTBD offers a consistent framework for user research and product strategy across larger organisations. I’ve since run my Jobs to be Done workshop with a number of clients.

Highs and lows

I had to take two weeks off and was in bed for most of that with Piriformis Syndrome. My piriformis muscle was inflamed and trapped my sciatic nerve. There’s nothing that focuses the mind more than having to do nothing and if I kept very still I wasn’t in pain. So lying still on my back I had a lot of thinking time. I couldn’t sit a desk for another week after that. Thanks to the miracle worker that is Alan Muckle I’m ok now and thankful for good health.

Moving from Projects to longer term engagements

For 2018 I moved away from project work to working longer term with product teams. Coaching, advising, helping and supporting product teams on an ongoing basis. Just being there to help steer the team and the product in the right direction. This year I’ve been working with Open Source Software company Alfresco, UK Charity Shaw Trust and Booking.com / RentalCars.com amongst others.

The big time! Mind the Product

October was a month of big things. The biggest audience I’ve spoken to (around 2,000) and the biggest stage (The Barbican).

And finally, something new and exciting coming in 2019

Throughout 2018 I’ve been using my spare time to build a start-up. Our Canary helps working parents manage their busy family and work lives. It’s a problem that’s close to my heart and I want to build a product that makes lives better. Watch this space for more Canary related things in 2019.